A vegan diet has many strict rules that determine what snacks are acceptable. Vegans, like vegetarians, do not consume any meat, poultry, or fish products. They also eliminate other animal products from their diet such as milk and dairy products, eggs, and honey.

With these ample restrictions on the acceptable food choices, selecting appropriate vegan snacks may seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, many large food companies have recognized the need for vegan choices and provide packaged snack products which adhere to vegan restrictions.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has identified a long list of products that are safe for vegans to eat. Among them are candies such as Blow Pops, Charms lollipops, Dots, Fireballs, Jujubes, and Jolly Ranchers. Other sweets such as cookies are prevalent on the list. Several types of Famous Amos&reg Sandwich Cookies, Food Lion Sandwich Cookies, Lance&reg Sugar Wafers, and Nabisco Oreo&reg cookies are acceptable vegan snacks as well.

For a salty choice, PETA has identified several types of chips and pretzels that are vegan snacks. On the list are Original Fritos&reg and Barbeque Fritos&reg, Kettle&reg Brand Sea Salt and Vinegar Chips, Lay’s&reg Natural Country Barbecue Potato Chips and Thick Cut Sea Salt Potato Chips. Several varieties of Nabisco Triscuit Crackers, and many kinds of Snyder’s Pretzel Sticks are vegan as well.

Ad

For many, making vegan snacks from scratch can be an easier and more reliable way of determining whether the selected foods adhere to their dietary needs. Bruschetta, garlic toast, and cheese toast are easy-to-prepare snacks. These must be made with vegan margarine and bread, and prepared without eggs or milk to be acceptable.

All fruits and vegetables are vegan. A quick and simple snack can consist of whole fruits, fruit salad, or fruit leather. Vegetable sticks such as carrots, celery, and bell peppers are healthy snacks as well. Hummus, made with chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic, is a creamy vegan dip ideal for fresh veggies.

Protein is often lacking in a vegan diet, so snacks that incorporate a healthy helping of protein-rich foods are a great choice. Peanut butter spread on celery sticks, apple slices, or vegan crackers is a quick and easy way to get some protein in. A small serving of broccoli and brown rice or tofu and almonds are other protein-rich snacks.

Though vegans do not eat any type of dairy product, soy alternatives have made many typically dairy foods available. Soy yogurt and soy ice cream are widely available in a variety of flavors. Soy milk can be used to prepare oatmeal for a snack.

Overall, vegans have a wide variety of snacking options available from commercially prepared products to simple homemade snacks. To ensure that packaged foods are vegan, the consumer should always read the label carefully as preparation methods and ingredient lists can change frequently. As long as no animal products are used in the preparation of the item, it can be considered vegan.

Discuss this Article

irontoenailPost 3

@pleonasm - I'm not vegan myself, but a couple of my friends on Facebook are and they often post vegan cookies or other baking they've done. It always looks absolutely delicious and if I cooked at all I would definitely give them a try.

@clintflint - The one thing you can absolutely count on from the vegan community is a wide variety of innovative recipes and information about how to ease into the lifestyle. I do think that the mistake a lot of people make is trying to stick to one particular food they know is safe, rather than doing some research and finding a wider variety.

Even if you want to stick to things found in the vegetable and fruit aisle at the supermarket, you shouldn't just eat apples or oranges. There's coconut, mangoes, salad, olives, kale, bananas, sweet potato and so forth. Sweet potato fries are probably my favorite vegan snacks, although I would never turn down muffins either.

The easiest and, in my opinion, best vegan snacks are always going to be nuts. You need to work so much protein and fat into a vegan diet that if you aren't snacking on nuts or some kind of legume you are going to struggle.

Although, if you are just starting out as a vegan you need to be careful about eating too much fruit and too many nuts before your stomach gets used to it. My sister made herself quite sick in the first few days from doing that.

Post your comments

Please enter the code:

Login

Register

Make changes/additions/deletions to the article below, and one of our editors will publish your suggestions if warranted.

Optional: Explanation of your recommended changes

Thank You!

One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted.
Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive,
this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK!